Wordle In The Classroom

Ways To Use WordleIn Your Classroom

Jen WagnerJune 2009

What is Wordle  http://www.wordle.net/

a graphic representation of most frequently used words. 

in a speech, in a poem, in a book, in your head, in scripture, in historical document, on a blog,

in a wiki, overhead in your classroom,on twitter/plurk, at a presentation or staff meeting,

and more!

However, it is NOT limited to only frequently used words -- you can create a wordle to be what you wish the wordle to be.

Expand Wordle

If you use a screen capture tool (such as Jing) and online venues (such as BigHugeLabs or SmugMug) you can create some one-of-a-kind gifts, posters, and more. http://www.jingproject.com/http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/http://www.smugmug.com/

Wordle Hints

•Retype the words you wish emphasized 2 to 3 more times than the other words to make them stand out•Use a ~ between words to group words together such as We~The~People•Look through your font choices •Under layout – you can determine the maximum word usage. Can make your wordle truly POP!

Teacher Appreciation

Have students brainstorm thoughts and memories about their teacher.  Print as poster, mousepad, or magnet.

Mother's Day/Father's Day

After children create wordle, place the image on a mug.  Or use fabric transfer paper and make a tie.

Famous Speeches

You can find a collection of speeches at http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/previous.htm

Class Rules

Create your listing of rules or let students create their list.  Print as a poster or desk reminders.

Student Names

Doublecheck and triplecheck you have EVERYONE before printing.

Correct Way To Spell

Start a list each month of frequently misspelled words, change your wordle each month & compare.

Ways To Say Things Differently

This can be done in a variety of ways including using the = sign.  Such as cat=katze or synonyms/antonyms

Characters In A Book

Using a graphics program (PaintShopPro, PhotoShop, Pixie2, Paint) you can add images to your wordle.

Artwork Reflection

Overlay students reflections on a piece of artwork -- a famous artist or your own classroom artists.

State Reports

Create a unique state report, country report, animal report……….any report.

Classroom Lesson

Turn your spelling book or grammar lessons into a wordle of review.

Poetry

Have your students find (or create) a picture that shows a poem.  Customize the wordle coloring palette. 

Tell Me About……

Take a well known item (Olympic rings, maps, household item, etc) and create a wordle inside the object.

Guess The Book…

Have your students create book jackets based on characters, plots, and locations w/in a book.

Review A Historical Document

Have students review a document & pull out the words they feel should be emphasized!

Create a Memory

This idea was use in Texas on June 12, 2009. It could also be used for class subjects or field trip memories.

Information Review

Clipart courtesy FCIT:  http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/ 

Special Effects Information

Many people have asked how I created the special effects (such as overlays of artwork)

I enjoy the software Paint Shop Pro … and within paint shop pro (or any graphics program) – you can create layers in which to manipulate your artwork.

The image I used would become the bottom layer and the wordle (which I used a screen capture) would become my second layer.

I also used opacity (to subdue some of the backgrounds) and also used EFFECTS to create bevels and shadows.

Other Ways To Use Wordle• Rodd Lucier has 20 ways on his blog at

http://thecleversheep.blogspot.com/2008/10/top-20-uses-for-wordle.html

•  Murcha has a slideshare of ideas at http://www.slideshare.net/murcha/using-wordle-in-the-classroom-presentation

•  Samantha Lunn has 23 ideas at http://languagesresources.wordpress.com/2009/05/07/23-ways-to-use-wordle-in-the-mfl-classroom/ 

• Terry Freedman has 5 ideas at http://www.techlearning.com/article/Blogs/20322 

• Tom Barrett has a growing list at http://www.ideastoinspire.co.uk/wordle.htm 

• Chris Thomas has an excellent tutorial at http://www.iprimary.co.uk/tutorial.php?tutorialID=002

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